Grand Junction has one of the largest suicide rates in not only the state but also the country. According to statistics in from both 2017 and 2018, the suicide rate in the valley is about twice as high as the rest of the state and close to three times the rate of the rest of the country.
The question across the board is “why” and no one really has an answer.
But that hasn’t stopped many local groups from doing their part to try and help those that are struggling with their mental health. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) club is the organization on campus with a mission to helping students who are struggling with their mental health.
Established by Dr. Jake Jones, our on-campus NAMI branch is a part of a much larger organization. They are currently located in Houston Hall with meetings every week.
These meetings serve the purpose of coming up with different fundraisers and events to organize and bring awareness to campus by spread the word about maintaining your mental health.
“We are a mental awareness club, we host events with non-profit organizations to bring that awareness out there. Let people know they aren’t alone in those troubling times,” Whitney Rivera, Vice President of NAMI said. “All our officers come up with their own event that they want to do.”
NAMI does everything from volunteering and hosting intervention meetings to throwing fundraisers. On April 14, NAMI partnered with McCalister’s Deli.
“We had all of our officers go there and hand out flyers. When patrons got to the register, they mentioned the club and McCalister’s Deli donated 15% of the proceeds from the sale to us,” Rivera said.
NAMI’s main focus is on campus, but they also host events in the community as well.
“We participate with Catholic Outreach, help with whatever they need from us. We do a lot of volunteering, whatever we can do in every aspect. We also reach out and help other clubs on campus,” Rivera said.
Amongst the events held on campus, NAMI recently did a Brief Suicide Intervention to offer training for facility and RAs as to how to best help students who are facing challenges.
“A lot of people participated in that, and they thought it was really helpful to learn the basics on how to help someone,” Rivera said.
If you are struggling and need help either with school or personally, you can go to the Wellness Center on campus across from the Orchard Apartments.
The two main outlets are Wellness Center, which is the main resource and the NAMI club. You can also reach out to your RAs as they should have that training and knowledge of where to go if you are having any other struggles.
“I know I had to go there a couple of times my Junior year of college. But I had that knowledge as a Counseling Psychology Major, but I feel there are a lot of freshman and many other people who don’t know about that or where to go. We are just trying to spread the word on where to go” Rivera said.
If you would like to support NAMI and also walk for a fantastic cause, on May 11, NAMI Western Slope will be hosting a Break the Silence Walk. It will be from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. at the Botanical Gardens.
